Love and Life
by RosesandThorns666
Summary: AU. Castiel and Dean both have to find the time to work, to care for their siblings, and after a chance meeting in a café belonging to Castiel's brother, they have to find time for each other. Can their soon found romance survive? Destiel! Please R&R!
1. A Brand New Day

**Summary: **AU. Castiel and Dean both have to find the time to work, to care for their siblings, and after a chance meeting in a café belonging to Castiel's brother, they have to find time for each other. Can their soon found romance survive? Destiel! Please R&R!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Supernatural _or its characters.

**A/N: **Yet another Destiel AU which is the first of three stories. The focus for a while will be my sister!fic, The Paths We Tread. If you haven't read it, please, please do! It starts from 1x16 and is going all the way up to the end of season 5 with a follow-on story, an AU featuring the OC and other stuff. No season 6 or 7 angst because I want my OC to have a good ending. I really want more people to be involved with it because when we get to season 4 and Castiel shows up, part of me thinks that more people will be interested and won't have read the previous 3/4 stories and learnt about the character. The second story is coming close to completion and hopefully will have another chapter this weekend.

As for this story, please read and review! I hope you enjoy it!

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><p><strong>Love and Life<strong>

**Chapter One: A Brand New Day**

This is the story of two men who both endured hardships at home, and when they finally met, their lives were changed forever.

Castiel Novak was twenty-one years old, and a 'writer-in-training' for a magazine about music, art, drama, TV, movies, dance, and other aspects of culture, and the job was one he enjoyed and found was flexible with his home life.

Castiel needed flexibility with his home life because of his younger sister Anna, who had been through a traumatic experience when she was fifteen. Now at the age of nineteen, she was a very damaged, very vulnerable adult, who Castiel took as much time to care for as he could. His boss was very good to him and let him work from home on days when Anna became very stressed and upset. They accommodated him the best they could and he did all he could to make sure they knew how much he appreciated it. Ellen Harvelle was Anna's carer when Castiel couldn't stay at home and since she was godmother to all the Novak children, she felt it her duty to come and help so Castiel could go to work to support his sister.

Dean Winchester was a twenty-two year old firefighter who was struggling to support his eighteen year old brother, Sam. Sam wanted to go to college so Dean had been saving up for over five years so the kid could do whatever he wanted. Their dad had moved away after finding out Dean was gay, and their mother had passed away when they were very young. Dean struggled to keep himself going sometimes because if the money he earned wasn't going to his bills, or Sam's account, it was going to Sam himself. Bobby, Dean's godfather, always tried to support the boys as well, and Dean was grateful for the help he could offer. He'd given Sam his first car and Dean had tuned it up as well as paid the insurance and for Sam's driving lessons.

Both Dean and Castiel struggled in their day to day lives. They struggled to keep relationships going, and Castiel had found since 'the incident', as it was referred to, that whenever he was with a man long enough for him to bring them home, they often ran at the first realisation of Anna's state of mind. One of his boyfriends called her a freak. Another told her she needed to be locked away after she'd tried to cut herself. So, Castiel couldn't trust anyone until they proved it to him. Dean had struggled because the guys he'd dated just wanted a sexy fireman and didn't like the kid brother being in the way. He knew that he needed something stable because Sam was sick of man after man hurting his brother and Dean himself was sick of being hurt.

Neither of them expected to run into one another at a café that both visited on a daily basis. Castiel, on this occasion was taking a late break after getting an article completed. He headed over to the property quickly, only to meet the eyes of his twenty-six year old brother Gabriel, who grinned and waved him inside.

"Sorry, Dean." Gabriel said to the man he was serving as Castiel stepped inside, "My brother needs his regular."

The man, Dean, turned to look at Castiel and the younger Novak stopped and stared for a second at the beauty of Dean's green eyes. The man had the most perfect lips Castiel had ever seen, but he was drawn away from the scene of utter gorgeousness by his brother's coughing.

"Cassie...You're late." The older brother said, earning a roll of the eyes from Castiel.

"My name is not Cassie, Gabriel." Castiel growled with embarrassment as he took his coffee, "I just finished my article, and I have a later break, that's all."

"Here's your usual." Gabriel said, smiling as Castiel handed over the money for the coffee, "Oh, Castiel, this is Dean Winchester. He's a friend of mine. Dean, this is Cas."

"Hi." Dean said with a smile, holding his hand out to Castiel who shook it.

"Hello." Castiel replied in his deep, gruff voice, "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I need to get back to the office. Nice to meet you."

"And you." Dean said as the shorter man scowled at his brother before leaving, "Didn't realise that you had such a gorgeous brother."

"That's because I don't talk about my brother much." Gabriel replied as he handed Dean his coffee.

"He's hot." Dean said, earning a warning look from Gabriel.

Gabriel didn't like men, friends or not, looking at his brother in that manner. A lot of men had hurt Castiel so much, but Gabriel also knew that Dean had been hurt a lot. This made him wonder if Dean would actually stick with Castiel if anything happened between them. But Castiel had standards and Dean, despite him being a sexy fireman (and this was coming from Gabriel who was as straight as an arrow), wasn't really Castiel's type. Dean could be boisterous, loud and inappropriate sometimes, and Castiel liked classy men who knew how to behave. That's why he liked to date men over the age of twenty-five, because to him they seemed more mature.

"Well, the chances of you guys meeting again is very unlikely." The older man said, "He's got trust issues pretty bad."

"Aw, come on, man!" Dean cried with exasperation as he handed over his money, "I wanna get to know him, huh? If I see him again by some miracle, I'll give him my..."

At that moment, Castiel rushed back in and stared at Gabriel wide-eyed. The older brother looked confused but then gasped and grabbed a paper bag that rested by the coffee maker. Castiel's guilty pleasure. An iced doughnut.

"Hey, Castiel..." Dean said, catching the attention of the younger man as he handed Gabriel more money, "You have some time?"

"Um...I-I guess..." Castiel stammered, "Why?"

"I wanna get to know you." Dean said with an award winning smile.

Castiel blushed and instantly felt panic set in, before he looked to Gabriel who smiled at him, and he felt relaxed almost immediately. He smiled at Dean who smiled back cheekily, sighing and rolling his eyes in a dramatic way.

"Where are we sitting then?"

Dean grinned and the two walked to a seat, Castiel glaring at Gabriel before sitting opposite Dean. Neither man had the slightest idea that he was sitting opposite the love of his life.

-TBC-

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><p><strong>Soppy, right? <strong>

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Thanks for reading so far!**

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	2. Why Didn't You Call?

**Summary: **AU. Castiel and Dean both have to find the time to work, to care for their siblings, and after a chance meeting in a café belonging to Castiel's brother, they have to find time for each other. Can their soon found romance survive? Destiel! Please R&R!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Supernatural _or its characters.

**A/N: **Thanks for the support with this so far! I have a big event coming up in August that I need to be making arrangements for and that is very important to me, so it's a worthy distraction which sometimes takes away my muse. Also work continues to tire me emotionally and physically, and also I've been a little ill which prevents me from writing, especially after losing approximately a whole day just in sleep.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, guys! Sorry for the waiting with my writing. I keep praying for a lottery win so I can stay home and write all day!

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><p><strong>Love and Life<strong>

**Chapter Two: Why Didn't You Call?**

The two men talked for a while, discussing things like their jobs, childhoods and just as Castiel was about to open up about Anna, his cell phone rang. It was of course, Anna. He sighed and looked across at Dean almost guiltily, biting his lip as the phone continued to ring. He knew that he couldn't ignore it and he picked it up, sighing as he was about to flip it open.

"I'm really sorry, I need to take this." He said, earning a nod of understanding from Dean, "It's my little sister."

Dean completely understood. He knew that if his cell phone had gone off and it was his brother calling, he'd have answered immediately. So, he couldn't think Castiel ignorant or rude, because he knew the importance of caring for family. Especially siblings.

"Anna..." Castiel said softly, hearing a panicky voice on the other end of the line, "Anna, it's okay...It's okay, Ellen is with you...Yeah...I know, honey, I...Yes...I...Anna, I need to work today, baby, Ellen is there...Anna...Just a second."

Castiel covered the bottom of his cell phone with his hand and sighed, and Dean was able to see the clear strain and upset that he was experiencing at that moment. Not knowing really why, he gently reached out and touched Castiel's lower arm, smiling at him reassuringly. He knew what it was like to worry about siblings.

"Gabriel...?" Castiel called, "Anna's panicking. I can't leave work today either."

"I'll call Rachel to cover me." Gabriel said, heading to the back to call his assistant manager.

"Anna, listen to me." Castiel began slowly, "Gabriel is coming home as soon as possible, okay? No, you don't have to thank me, sweetheart...You stay calm with Ellen until Gabriel comes home...Okay...Goodbye, Anna...I love you too, honey. Bye."

He hung up and looked up at Dean apologetically, taking a slow sip from his coffee. Dean watched him, realising that whatever had just happened was very serious and that Castiel needed a bit of understanding.

"Anna's very fragile..." Castiel began, "I'm sorry, she calls me a lot."

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself, Cas." Dean began, "It's tough taking care of family. Believe me, I know."

Castiel smiled gratefully and rubbed his forehead, looking down at his watch and sighing deeply. He and Dean had been having a wonderful conversation and he didn't want it to end, but he had five minutes to get back to his office to finish the rest of his shift.

"I'm so sorry, Dean. I have to go." He said with regret, finishing the last of his coffee and standing, his trench coat flowing around him, "It was nice to meet you."

"And you. Here." Dean began, writing his number out on a piece of paper for Castiel, "Call me tonight?"

"Th-thank you." Castiel stuttered, taking the number and trying to hide his reddening cheeks from Dean's view, "Goodbye, Dean."

With that, he headed out of the café in a hurry. Not that he wanted to get out of Dean's way. It was just because he had to get back to work, and he was now worried about Anna, then Dean had given him his number, and Castiel's head became a mess.

By the time he got home, he had forgotten to call Dean, purely because he had Anna clinging to him and he was trying to settle her down for the night. She sat childlike at the dinner table, playing with her food rather than eating it. Gabriel had been gone since Castiel got home and as Castiel had cooked their dinner, Anna had been hugging him like she was scared to let him go. He'd almost lost his temper with her but managed to keep calm as always. Her condition wasn't her fault. But sometimes he needed a break and Anna wasn't always comfortable with him leaving.

"Is something wrong with your dinner, baby?" He asked gently, earning a startled look from Anna who shook her head and went back to playing with her dinner.

"Gabriel said you got another boyfriend." She began, "I-I don't want you to get hurt again 'cause of me."

Castiel stopped as he was about to eat another mouthful and he grimaced as his baby sister shuffled uncomfortably, feeling guilty for the fact that she seemed to have been the cause of the end to his past broken relationships.

"Anna, those guys who left me before aren't worth getting upset over." He whispered, "It wasn't because of you."

Anna obviously didn't believe him because she began to cry, and nothing hurt Castiel more than to see that, so he stood from his chair and moved over to kneel by his sister, embracing her in warm, loving arms. He rubbed her back and her side gently, whispering soothing words into her ear.

"I don't have another boyfriend either, sweetheart." He told her, "You have nothing to fear with things like that. Nothing is your fault. Okay?"

She nodded and whimpered against his shoulder, while he hushed her with gentle shushing sounds and rocked her in his embrace. He whispered to her that it was alright and she was safe, she was loved, that no-one was mad at her. Eventually, she took her shower and Castiel put her to bed. He had to stay by her until she fell asleep, or she'd never get to sleep. That or she'd freak out. Castiel, exhausted himself, slipped into bed not long after and fell into a deep sleep.

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><p>The following day, Castiel didn't expect to run into Dean.<p>

They met in the street, and Dean was off duty for the day, so when he saw Castiel, a devilish grin crossed his lips and he approached the young man who was looking busy as anything. Castiel hadn't called him, and it bugged Dean just a little, and for the simple reason that he couldn't get enough of Castiel. He couldn't get enough of his voice, his eyes, the way he had so much pressure that he obviously had to get off his chest that Dean wished he could relieve.

"Why didn't you call?" He asked, startling the young man out of his daydreams.

"Oh. Hey, Dean." Castiel said quietly, "I'm sorry. Anna was very...upset last night."

Dean softened a little. He knew the difficulty of caring for siblings, and he knew that Castiel must be finding things pretty hard if it was making him look so damn tired. The poor guy looked like he'd not slept for years.

"I'm going to have to work from home tomorrow." Castiel said quietly, almost to himself, "She's having a bad week. I'm sorry I didn't call you, Dean."

Dean felt like a bit of a dick after that and he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as he looked at the gorgeous man before him. He was going to as him out regardless of what was happening. He knew that Castiel needed a break and it was obvious that Gabriel could also help with their sister.

"I was hoping you'd call because I wanted to ask you if you want to go out to dinner with me tomorrow." He said, earning a soft smile from Castiel, "Seven-thirty? I can pick you up from your place if you want."

"I-I'd like that..." Castiel admitted, "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

He wrote his address down for Dean and handed it to him, watching the grin cross Dean's face. He'd made Dean happy obviously, and Castiel was happy that he had a date again. Dean seemed very understanding about his problems, but Castiel was just worried about his reaction when he saw Anna for the first time.

Maybe this time, things would be different...Maybe...?

-TBC-

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**Thanks for reading so far!**

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